In the process of shipping an item from one location to another, a protective packaging material is typically placed in the shipping case, or box, to fill any voids and/or to cushion the item during the shipping process. Some conventional commonly used protective packaging materials are plastic foam peanuts and plastic bubble pack. While these conventional plastic materials seem to adequately perform as cushioning products, they are not without disadvantages. Perhaps the most serious drawback of plastic bubble wrap and/or plastic foam peanuts is their effect on our environment. Quite simply, these plastic packaging materials are not biodegradable and thus they cannot avoid further multiplying our planet's already critical waste disposal problems. The non-biodegradability of these packaging materials has become increasingly important in light of many industries adopting more progressive policies in terms of environmental responsibility.
These and other disadvantages of conventional plastic packaging materials has made paper protective packaging material a very popular alternative. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and renewable; making it an environmentally responsible choice for conscientious industries. While paper in sheet form could possibly be used as a protective packaging material, it is usually preferable to convert the sheets of paper into a relatively low density pad-like cushioning dunnage product. This conversion may be accomplished by a cushioning conversion machine, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,477. This patent is assigned to the assignee of the present application and its entire disclosure is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The cushioning conversion machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,477 comprises a conversion assembly which converts multi-ply stock material into a three-dimensional cushioning product and a stock supply assembly which supplies the multiply stock material to the conversion assembly. The conversion assembly includes the forming assembly which inwardly turns the lateral regions of the stock material as it travels downstream therethrough. This inward turning results the lateral regions of the stock experiencing edge tension which sometimes results in ripping or tearing of the stock material.
A need remains for further improvements to prevent excessive edge tension and/or the tearing associated therewith. This need is especially critical for the conversion of lesser quality and/or short fiber paper. Additionally or alternatively, a need remains for other improvements to the cushioning conversion machine to work in conjunction with tension-distributing devices or otherwise improve or enhance the conversion process.